The Gryffindor Keeper and the Sorcerer
by Impala73
Summary: On the train to Hogwarts Arthur Pendragon meets a quirky dark haired boy and they hit it off, but over time they drift apart, until they get drawn back together and reignite what they had, maybe it could even become more? (Yes, there will be Merthur!)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Merlin or. Harry Potter or any of the. places or settings, I do. Not own either franchise**

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Arthur glanced around, he was still unsure if this was a dream or not, wizards, secret alleys, running through a brick wall, ending up on this platform, bustling with parents and children; younger siblings staying close to mummy and daddy, older students in their final years casually hanging around and chatting, the nervous gibbering of first years; despite his senses being on high alert Arthur failed to notices  
 ** _*CRASH*  
_** A young boy with messy black hair and gangly limbs crashed into Arthur, who had been stood by his trolley trying to work out where to go next, this boy sent them both sprawling across Arthurs luggage, scattering it to the floor. Before Arthur had a chance to recover from the shock the dark haired boy had scrambled off of him and was offering him a hand up; Arthur was annoyed and embarrassed, he had wanted to make a good impression on the people here and now this, he knocked the boys hand away and got to his feet by himself  
"Sorry, I didn't see you till it was too late!" the boy said in a cheery voice with an apologetic grin on his face,  
"Yeah well next time look where you're going, idiot," Arthur snapped, dusting off his clothes, the other boy looked down at his feet before mumbling something and disappearing into the crowd once more.

As Arthur gathered up his luggage he replayed what had happened in his head and began cursing himself for being so rude, the first fellow student for him to talk to and he had behaved like a right arse, annoyed he dropped off his luggage and climbed aboard the train where he found an empty compartment; he sat down and gazed out of the window, observing the hustle and bustle before the whistle blew and the train began to slowly move away, parents waving as the train began to pick up speed; Arthur felt a twinge of sadness that his own parents weren't there, with his mother gone his father had thrown himself into ruling over his kingdom; ever since Arthur could remember his father had been obsessed with building a strong import/export empire.

Arthurs thoughts of how his father had hopes that Arthur would one day take over his business were looking rather unlikely, with this whole new world opened up to him; the compartment door slid open and a familiar face smiled nervously at him, then the boy with the dark hair and bright blue eyes entered and took a seat across from Arthur,  
"sorry, there was no room in the other compartments," he explained, trying not to sound uncertain, Arthur looked at him for a minute before responding,  
"Okay" with a small nod of his head, the other boy nodded back, grinning slightly, before looking down at his hands, Arthurs gaze flicking between the window where the landscape was whizzing by and the boy across from him.

They sat in awkward silence for five minutes or so before Arthur couldn't take it any longer,  
"Look, about earlier, I didn't mean to be so harsh," he said, choosing his words carefully  
"Don't worry about it, I did crash into you,"  
"Yes, yes you did…" the silence threatened to fall again but it didn't get a chance,

"I'm Merlin," The boy said, extending his hand as a sign of friendship, Arthur glanced at it before taking it in a firm grip,  
"Arthur Pendragon,"  
"Nice to meet you, so, do you have any family at Hogwarts?" Merlin asked curiously  
"uh, no, I didn't even know that magic existed until a month ago!"  
"oh right so you're a muggle born? Cool,"  
"What did you just call me?" Arthur asked suspicious and unsure  
"A muggle born, a muggle is someone who doesn't have magic and muggle born means that your parents aren't magical, then you have half-bloods, who have a muggle and a magical parent, then you have pure bloods, like me, whose family has magic… there's also squibs who are non-magical children of magical parents," Merlin explained knowledgably, as if it was something so normal, which, Arthur guessed, it was for him,  
"So, you've known about magic all your life and grown up surrounded by it?" Arthur asked curiously  
"Yes, well yes and kind of, you see I grew up in a small village where my mother and I were the only magical ones there so we couldn't be open about it and my mother rarely used it, but I have always known about it," Merlin told Arthur about his house, only a little cottage but it was enough for his mother and him, about how it had only been them because his father had died before Arthur was born and how proud his mother had been of him when he had first managed to move thing, even though it had been her favourite vase and it had ended up smashed against the wall, Merlin told him about how he had been able to do magic before he had even been able to talk; suddenly Arthur felt like his magic was greatly inferior; suddenly Merlin paused to take a gasp of breath  
"So, what about you?"  
"Me, oh well, I grew up in the country in the manor," Arthur stopped, mentally kicking himself  
"you live in a manor?!" damn, he had known this would happen, he would let slip about how his father had a huge company and how he had had a privileged life, and just like at school before Hogwarts, the other boys would give him hell for it, "That's so cool!" This took Arthur by surprise, "There are a lot of pureblood families which have big manor type houses which have been passed down through the generations, is it like a properly old house?"  
"uh, yeah, it's quite old but dad has the money to keep it good so it's not like rundown or anything," Arthur explained,  
"Ah cool! What does your dad do?"  
"He owns and runs an import/export company,"  
"Cool! What's that?" this made Arthur smile before explaining how his father would bring everything from kitchen pots to cars into the country and selling and shipping things to other countries, Merlin listened to this, absorbed in the muggle world that Arthur was creating with his words.

They chatted for hours, where they had gone to school (Arthur had gone to private school and Merlin had a mixture of the local village school ad home schooling from his mother) to what their favourite things about the worlds they had grown up in were (Merlin loved reading about all the creatures that Arthur had previously thought were myths, Arthur loved the technology of the muggle world), they talked about what magic they had done and Merlin pointed out to Arthur that whilst it seemed that Merlin had been able to do magic from a much earlier age that Arthur that he had probably been doing it for years without realising, or rationalising it into a way his muggle logic could understand, like he had just forgotten that he had moved his juice, or that the helicopter had always been green and it was only his imagination that told him it was yellow before; and this made Arthur feel a lot better about his powers.

As night began to fall they went to get dressed and Merlin shared the lunch that his mother had made him, they were going to by some sweets from the trolley but some jerk further up the train had bought all they had to share with his like one friend, so they settled with sandwiches and homemade cake, Arthur had never had a meal like this before, where it was made with such care and thought, he had grown up on what the nanny could be bothered to make which was usually just some instant food or ready meal, then school lunches where they'd just dollop some gloop on your plate and that was it. Merlin mumbled something about Arthur having bread crumbs on his robes through a full mouth.

Arthur stood up and brushed himself off, feeling something inside his robe he pulled it out and saw it was his wand,  
"What's your wand made of?" Merlin asked, swallowing his mouthful of cake and noticing what Arthur had in his hand,  
"uh the guy in the shop said that it was a 10 inch black walnut with a dragon heartstring core " Arthur recited  
"Nice" Merlin nodded in appreciation before drawing his own wand, it was slightly shorter than Arthurs and dark brown "Mines a 9 ¾ inch Chestnut with a phoenix feather core" Merlin said, spinning it impressively between his finger, well it was impressive for about three seconds before Merlin fumbled and dropped it on the floor, he picked it up sheepishly as Arthur laughed as he collapsed back into his seat, he gazed over at Merlin who gave him his goofy lopsided grin.

They fell into a comfortable silence with the compartment filled with the gentle glow of the lights for the sun had pretty much set, Arthur still gazed out into the darkness, Merlin snoozing, sprawled across the seats opposite, Arthur shook Merlin awake as he saw lights ahead, the station was well lit, contrasting with the inky black of its surroundings, its old fashioned benches and railings seemed to fit with the train and the idea of what Hogwarts would be like that Arthur was building in his mind, both boys watched as they drew closer and soon they were pulling into the station; scrabbling to get off the train, they were suddenly surrounded by hundreds of other students, neither being used to crowds having grown up in a small village with a class of only 6 and living in an empty manor with a privet school education where all the boys were reserved and snobbish and the classes were small because of the extortionate price of education, now that they were being swarmed by people, many of whom were a lot taller than themselves, Arthur and Merlin instinctively reach for each other's hand, Merlin glanced over at Arthur and caught his eye and they exchanged sheepish grins, Arthur giving Merlin's hand an encouraging squeeze. They caught the loud cries for the first years to gather over by the speaker, Arthur followed the voice, pushing through the crowed, pulling Merlin after him, when they emerged from the crowd they were greeted by a clump of people their height, the speaker towered over them, and the other students bustling about on the platform,  
"Now that most of yer are 'ere, my name is Rubeus Hagrid and I am the gamekeeper and keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts, now if all first years will please follow me," he boomed in a loud jolly voice before striding off along the platform, anxious first years scurrying along behind him, the sea of older students on the platform parted before him, allowing them safe and easy passage. They reached a great lake, or maybe it connected to the ocean, it was too dark for either of the boys to tell; they were grouped with two other boys and directed into one of the little boats bobbing in the water, the other two boys took the front and back seats, leaving the double middle bench free for them; Merlin was handed a lantern by Hagrid and then the boats began to move. Arthur gave a little gasp of surprise when this happened, peering over the edge of the boat into the black water below trying to see what was pulling them, he heard Merlin chuckle and turned to him with a questioning look,  
"It's magic you dollophead! There are no oars or motors!" Merlin whispered in a low voice, still chuckling,  
"Oh, yeah of course… wait, did you just call me a _dollophead_?"  
"What? No, course not!" Merlin replied, grinning his cheeky smile, Arthur watched Merlin, bathed in the yellow glow, it wasn't until all the other students gasped that Arthur glanced ahead and gasped to. They could see the castle, a hundred plus windows all glittering with a welcoming yellow glow, like a nights sky, dark stone littered with glowing jewels, there were turrets and spires, towers and halls. The first years craned their necks back as they got closer and closer until they were at the boat house and climbing out of the boats before following a lit path up to the grand doors.

There wasn't enough light to see the courtyard but once inside Arthur could see that the walls were stone and adorned with paintings and tapestries; the first years were ushered into a chamber by a severe looking women before being left alone; nervous chatter broke out between the students, they were about to be sorted,  
"So, the houses? What are they like? And how do we get sorted, is it like a test or names in a hat?" Arthur asked, unsure about the whole process  
"there are four houses, you're sorted by a hat that looks in your head to see what your personality is, Ravenclaw are the clever, studious ones, Gryffindor are the brave and determined ones, Hufflepuff are the kind and loyal ones, Slytherin are the cunning and ambitious ones; however the way it's seen by the students is that Ravenclaw are nerds, Gryffindor are jocks, Hufflepuff are meek and Slytherin are evil, but in truth there is much more to the members of each house than the one dimensional way that most people choose to look at it," Merlin explained  
"A hat reads your mind?"  
"Seriously, _that_ is what you choose to take away from that?" said Merlin almost in disbelief,  
"Well there's narrow mindedness and stereotyping by the truckload in the muggle world, but no telepathic hats" Arthur pointed out and Merlin gave him a little shrug as if to say 'fair enough' "So what house do you want to be in?" Arthur asked,  
"I don't think I could get into Ravenclaw, and I'm not exactly cunning, so maybe Gryffindor or Hufflepuff? To be honest I don't mind that much, though Hufflepuff have the best deal when it comes to common room and dorms because they're next to the kitchen, Slytherin are in the dungeons which get cold and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are at the top of two of the highest towers in the school!" Merlin said thoughtfully, evaluating each option, "What about you?"  
"I don't know, Gryffindor maybe? I honestly don't know, I hope we're in the same house so that we can hang out,"  
"Yeah, that'd be cool, you know," Merlin didn't get to finish his sentence because the professor had returned, she introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and lead them into the Great Hall; Arthur got the feeling of an animal in a zoo, on display, everyone watching. One by one they students were called up to take a seat on the stall and have the hat that could read their mind placed on their head, Arthurs mind wandered, until he heard his name being called, he gulped and glanced over at Merlin who gave him an encouraging smile; once on the stool the hat fell over his eyes,  
"Ah! Very interesting…" A voice in his head made him jump "plenty of courage, strength, also strong sense of loyalty, you could fit in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff well, also cunning which could put you ahead in Slytherin… but where to put you…" the voice trailed away before it spoke to the whole hall "Gryffindor!" as the hat was lifted off his head a table erupted with cheers, welcoming their newest member, Arthur walked over and took a seat, grinning as he was patted on the back and congratulated.

He turned to face the front just as Merlin was called to the front, Arthur watched as his friend made his way to the front of the crowd, only to stumble and be sent sprawling on the stairs, some students laughed and applauded whilst others cringed for him; Merlin scrambled to his feet and gave the crowd an awkward apologetic smile that Arthur felt was directed at him before sitting on the stool, the had falling over his blue eyes; there was silence in the hall, though they all knew that there was a conversation going on in Merlin's head before the hat announced,  
"Hufflepuff!" Arthur felt his heart drop slightly; they weren't in the same house; still he joined in the applause for his friend, whose hair looked just as messy as before. Merlin gave him a little wave once he was seated and Arthur shot back a smile and thumbs up, a gesture which Merlin copied. They watched the rest of the sorting before the headmaster congratulated all the new students, he then clapped his hands together and the plates filled with food, Arthur gasped and looked in awe, certain that things would never stop amazing him about the wizarding world. He had a conversation through mouthing and miming with Merlin who was one table over before getting caught in a conversation with the other new Gryffindor first years.

Soon the plates were emptied by another clap of the headmaster's hands,  
"Prefects, please show the first years to their dorms," with that the prefects and first years rose and left the hall, whilst caught in the congestion of trying to get out the hall Merlin managed to get to Arthur,  
"Congratulations on getting into Gryffindor!"  
"Thanks! And you said that you'd like to be in Hufflepuff!"  
"True, shame we're not in the same house but I'm sure we'll survive; anyway I have to go before I get left behind! Goodnight Arthur!"  
"Night Merlin!" Arthur called as Merlin disappeared into the crowd, he spotted a mess of black hair going down a corridor as he was being lead up a flight of stairs, marvelling at the animated portraits. He thought that the fat lady was quite a character and looked forward to the evenings he would spend in the comfortable common room, soon he was in the first year's boy's dorm, and it was only him and the other five Gryffindor boys.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arthur nervously sorted his clothes, storing them away before pushing his trunk under his bed. The other boys in the room were as quiet as he was, each regarding the others with the same unsure eyes.

Finally one boy with a mop of long brown hair broke the silence, manovering himself comfortably onto his bed.  
"So, we're the newest additions to Gryffindor? What do you all think of that?" the boy had a bit of an accent that reminded Arthur of the ruffians from film, their loose grip on pronunciation. A few of the other boys murmured responses, but the one with one of the beds next to Arthur stood by the heater in the centre of the room,  
"I think that it is an honour to be in this house, it is one with a history of courage and chivalry, we may one day be seen as heroes if such an opportunity arises for us to prove ourselves worthy!"  
"Woah there!" the boy to the left of Arthur said in a jovial tone, "We're 11, right now we need to focus on school, not potentially becoming heroes because of our house!" before the room could fall back into an awkward silence the boy quickly continued speaking, eager to keep the interaction going "I'm Lancelot by the way,"  
"Lancelot?" piped up the first boy who had spoken  
"It's a family name okay?! I'm sure yours isn't much better!" he replied indignantly  
"Gwaine, it's welsh." The long haired boy responded

The other boys went round and introduced themselves, clockwise from the door there was Gwaine with his long hair and ruffian tone; then Percival who was twice the size of all the other boys in the room; Lancelot with his rather agreeable features; Arthur; Leon who had advocated concentrating on school first; and lastly Elyan with tanned skin and a quiet demeanour.

The six boys continued to talk as the evening rolled into night, learning about each other's backgrounds and families, their ideals and hopes. After the prefects came round to tell them that it was lights out Arthur lay in bed, absorbing all that he had learned in the few short hours; both Percival and Elyan were half-bloods, coincidentally, both on their mothers side; Lancelot was a muggle born like him; Leon was pure blood. So was Gwaine but his family were considered 'blood traitors' which he vaugly remembered Merlin mentioning earlier.

Merlin.

Arthur wondered how he was doing, wishing that he could just talk to him, to help him understand all that he was being told. He wanted to listen and hear about the other Hufflepuff boys, were they nice, had Merlin made friends with them? Arthur liked the boys in his dorm, but he couldn't help wishing that Merlin were there too. He fell asleep with the raven haired boy on his mind, unaware the down in the Hufflepuff dorms, that very same boy had a certain blond lingering in his last thoughts before he too drifted off to sleep.

The next morning when Merlin awoke his brain took a moment to register where he was, sunlight pouring in the circular windows, the circular room housing five other boys, each bed slightly hidden in an alcove, house plants hung from the ceiling and wooden furniture stood neatly. The other boys in the room were just starting to stir, not wanting to wake them Merlin quietly gathered his clothes from the desk chair where he had left them, grabbed his towel and wash bag and disappeared out of the room.

The showers were bathed in more golden sunlight, filtering in from skylights way above, the shower cubical were separated by simple bamboo screens which allowed the occupant plenty of room to shower and then get changed. Attempting to run a comb through his hair was his final effort to look presentable before proudly glancing at himself in the mirror, his uniform was neat, for now, his tie and jumper proudly emblazoned with yellow and black, how he wished his mother could see him now, how he couldn't wait to hear from her. Last night he had excitedly sent her an letter via owl describing everything, from his journey, to his new friend, to being sorted into Hufflepuff!

After quickly dropping off his wash bag, pyjamas and hanging up his damp towel to dry he ventured out of the common room to try and find his way to the great hall, hopefully he'd be one of the first there for breakfast.

Merlin was definitely _not_ one of the first to breakfast. He was pretty sure he knew the way, but after taking a wrong turn or two he ended up hopelessly lost, thankfully some nice 5th year Slytherins were also on their way to breakfast and let him tag along. He arrived around the time of the mid breakfast rush, when everyone was arriving and trying to get a seat. Merlin wandered along the Hufflepuff table in hopes of an opening and had nearly reached the end when he let out a small yelp as a hand closed around the back of his robe and pulled him on to the bench behind. Glancing round in surprise he came face to face with a thankfully familiar one,  
"Jeez Arthur! You nearly gave me a heart attack! You can't just grab someone like that y'know!" Merlin smiled, giving Arthur and affectionate punch  
"Well I tried calling to you but you didn't hear me, it was a last resort, your own fault really! Anyway, join us for breakfast?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin with a persuasive smile, Merlin glanced round at the other 11 year old boys who were all smiling and laughing,  
"Well… I wouldn't want to intrude…"  
"Nonsense!" Arthur cried, laughing "C'mon Merlin, swing your legs round and have something to eat,"  
"Arthur, I can't, you can't eat at other houses tables" Merlin replied in almost a hushed whisper, knowing he shouldn't be there,  
"Don't be silly Merlin! Why would it matter where you sat for breakfast? It's not like it's an official ceremony or anything,"  
"Yeah I know, but still, there are just certain rules that you have to follow, I wish I could stay but I really can't,"  
"Merlin, please, stay." Arthur said quietly, fixing the boy with a pleading gaze and moving closer to him so he could hear the soft words that he uttered, "This place is still kinda scary without you…" Finally giving in to the blond Merlin sighed and swung his legs under the table. He chatted with the boys and Arthur, starting to relax about the whole inter-house thing, it was probably just being made out to be an bigger issue than it was. That was until Merlin felt a strong hand on his shoulder, it tightened around his robe and pulled back violently. Before Merlin knew what was happening he was on his back, looking up at the illusion of the morning sky.

"You first years need to learn, you don't sit at other tables, especially not the Gryffindor table, got it Puff?" A large sixth year Gryffindor snarled, glowering down at Merlin who just nodded meekly before scrambling to his feet, about to make his way to the Hufflepuff table when he heard a voice pipe up over the din of the great hall.  
"Why not? Why should he not be allowed to sit with his friends?" It was Arthur, standing tall to the sixth year, but not even reaching the colossal's shoulder.  
"Because he isn't worthy, and that's just how things are, so deal with it kid, don't mix with other houses and you'll go far, okay?"  
That was all the response Arthur got before the sixth year leered at Merlin once more and disappeared into the crowd. Still pretty shaken Merlin hastily said goodbye and before Arthur could respond the raven haired boy had also disappeared.

Arthur spent the rest of the meal quietly thinking, trying to understand how such a archaic system was still in place, such idiotic segregation…

On his way out of the great hall Arthur spotted a familiar mop of black hair, pushing through the crowd he managed to once again grab Merlin by the back of his robe. He then grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the current of people that had been pulling them along.

"Look, Merlin, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to get you in trouble, and what that guy said about how we shouldn't be friends outside out houses?"  
"Look Arthur," Merlin cut him off "I don't want to, but maybe it would be easier if we just did what he said. Hogwarts is full of people just like him who believe all that nonsense about not only blood purity but also house purity, that it is wrong to mingle outside of your house, so maybe it would just be easier…"  
"Screw that! And screw them! Why should they get to tell me that I am not allowed to keep the best friend that I have made since I arrived in this world? I don't care if it won't be easy… I don't want to lose you Merlin."  
"I don't want to lose you either," Merlin said quietly with a small smile.

The two boys exchanged a firm embrace before agreeing to keep their friendship, no matter what, that they need to meet up all the time. Then Arthur watched as once more his blue eyed friend disappeared into the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: There is a tragic story that comes with this chapter; you would have had it the day after the last one was uploaded had it not been for these tragic events. I was really getting into writing it and you know when the words are just flowing and it feels like you have been blessed by the Musen? That is how I felt. It was late and I was burning the 2am oil, and I was nearly done with the chapter. Then it happened. I'm not sure what exactly it was… but either Word crashed or I pressed some weird combo of keys, but next thing I knew, Chapter 3 was gone. 2 hours of work… 2000 words… true perfection. I tried everything I could think of to recover it, but it was no good. It was gone. I will not lie to you, I was very tired (it being 2am and all) and so slightly over emotional (but honestly I think this was a justified reaction) I just cried. I cried for about 10 minutes before going to bed in a heap of misery.  
Since then I just haven't been able to bring myself to write chapter 3 again, I was so pleased with the last one and whatever I do post will never be as good in my mind. I honestly have tried to write it, I have gotten as far as booting up my computer and opening the document, then the grief will hit me all over again and I become disheartened and just close the document in defeat.  
So in short I am sorry that this chapter has taken so long to do, I just couldn't do it for a while. Thanks for being patient and I hope you do enjoy whatever is posted, even though my heart will be filled with sadness every time I think of it._**

 ** _R.I.P. Original Chapter 3, a true treasure that was lost too soon._**

* * *

The first week went by slowly, the first year's lessons consisted of a gentle introduction from teachers about the subject, what would be expected of them in class, Arthur realised that it wasn't far different from the kind of first week you would experience at a muggle school, only with slightly different subjects! The boys quickly figured out which classes they shared, luckily there were quite a few, Merlin was told by some of the older Hufflepuffs that it was because Hufflepuffs were the most tolerable of Gryffindor; after all there was that age old rivalry with Slytherin, said to have been started when Salazar challenged Godric to a dual, only to lose to him. The Ravenclaws could apparently get annoyed by the Gryffindors bravado and that had resulted in some pretty spectacular arguments, and Ravenclaws being paired with Gryffindor less than before.

Charms was the first lesson that the two shared, Arthur bumped into Merlin in the hall who had his signature goofy grin on his face, the other Gryffindor boys were with him, chatting to the Hufflepuff so that when Arthur arrived he was greeted with a chorus of hellos. They agreed who would sit next to whom in class, obviously including Merlin in the plan; he would be between Arthur and Gwaine, right in the middle to show that they didn't care about the stupid house divide. But their hearts sunk as they entered the room and saw that Professor Flitwick had drawn up a seating plan on the chalkboard, with a clear divide between the Houses. Professor Flitwick was probably just trying to be nice with people sat with other that they kind of know, and to avoid conflict when certain house combos share a class.

So Merlin was sat with the other Hufflepuffs, who were pleasant enough, chatting quietly about the class and the different spells that they might have to do. He sat there only half listening, letting his focus drift over to the group on the other side of the aisle, where six boys dressed in robes emblazoned with red and gold sat, laughing and joking. Merlin wished he could be over there, there was a part of him that told him he needed to just adapt to the way things are and to befriend his own house mates; but that felt like not only giving in to the segregation that was happening, but also like he was betraying Arthur, his first friend at Hogwarts.

Merlin had drifted into his own mind, the voices of those around him seemed distant and his eyes gazed unfocused on the room. After a few minutes he shook himself out of it, not wanting to get in trouble with professor Flitwick in the first lesson. His eyes locked on brown ones that had been watching him, he let out a toothy grin at Arthur who smiled back before glancing over at Flitwick, who was writing out the homework on the chalkboard. Whilst the professors back was still turned Arthur expertly tossed a scrunched up ball of paper which landed softly on Merlin's desk, also glancing at the professor who remained oblivious to the activities of the class, he opened up the ball of paper, on it was written,

 _Hey, still can't quite believe we're at magic school! What's your next class? I have transfigurations with Mc-something. Hopefully we'll be able to sit together in some of the other classes we share!  
A_

Merlin smiled and quickly scribbled a response, checking that Flitwick's back was still turned Merlin tossed it to Arthur who was waiting with a smile. However Merlin's sporting prowess was not as good as Arthurs and it hit Lancelot on the head, who kindly passed it to Arthur laughing and grinning over at Merlin who was trying to express his apology through hand gestures and mouthing words. Arthur flattened out the piece of paper to read Merlin's response.

 _Hey! I know, Hogwarts can be crazy at times! I have flying next with Madam Hooch, that's bound to be a disaster! Also you'll finally meet your house rivals, the Ravenclaws are flying with us so you must have the Slytherins! You've got Mocgonagall, she's the one who conducted the sorting ceremony, and your head of house so don't get on her bad side!  
M  
P.S. If you see any cats in the transfigurations classroom, don't give them a stroke, my mother gave me that advice, she wouldn't tell me exactly why but apparently you might get a nasty shock if you do!_

Before Arthur could scribble down his reply the class was dismissed, leaving the boys to only wave goodbye as they departed for their separate classes.

* * *

As each new class came and went both boys began to realise that all the teachers seemed to share Flitwick's idea of separating the houses to avoid conflict, leaving the boys to only wave and communicate through notes that were thrown across the room when the teacher was not looking, that is if they dared to pass notes in the class, some of the teachers were just too scary to risk it. And so the boy's friendship became limited to these short communications and brief conversations in the hallways.

Once lessons properly began, the school year started to pick up pace. Everyone was adjusting to their new home, quickly learning their way around, simply for the sake of survival, learning about the different teachers and who you could get away with a bit of messing around with, and who would have you in detention so quick your head would spin. Speaking of detention, Arthur quickly learned that to mess about in certain classes would result in the six Gryffindor boys stuck polishing the many candelabras that were in Hogwarts every night until they were done. They also learned that house points were taken quite seriously and misbehaviour that would lead to the loss of house points would also earn you some annoyed looks and even a lecture from an older student if you lost a lot.

Merlin had no issue with teachers most the time; Professor Snape had deducted 15 house points after he had stumbled and knocked over a few bottles of powder, but Merlin quickly earned them back in Herbology. Professor Sprout said that he had a real knack for it and let him come and help in the greenhouses after lessons.

In any other free time Merlin spent most of it in the library, he quickly managed to befriend the strict Librarian, Madam Pince, who secretly had a soft spot for students that would spend a lot of their time alone in the library. She also liked that Merlin shared her own thirst for knowledge and respect for books, he was always careful with them and would come back with intelligent questions that she couldn't always answer. Madam Pince was always happy to help him find a book or to get the answer to a homework question that was troubling him, she had remarked a couple of times that she was surprised that Merlin had not been sorted into Ravenclaw with his love of books he displayed quite a few of their traits. But it was clear to her that he did belong in Hufflepuff, he seemed to have a sixth sense that allowed him to find those in need of help, whether it was a fellow first year who had gotten a bit turned around; a teacher that needed help carrying things; she would often see him helping in any way he could.

* * *

Christmas came and went so quickly, both Merlin and Arthur went home to their families. Merlin returned to the little cottage in the village, where his mother was waiting eagerly for him, they hugged and she fussed over how much he had grown and insisted on hearing everything about his first term over dinner, so Merlin told her of Arthur and the other Gryffindors, of the teachers and the classes. His mother thrilled to hear that he was excelling in Herbology, it had been one of her favourite lessons when she was at Hogwarts. He complained about the amount of homework that some teachers gave and about the separation between the houses, choosing to leave out about being pushed to the floor and threatened on his first morning.

The two of the enjoyed a quiet Christmas, Hunith made a humble Christmas dinner of roast chicken, with vegetables fresh from the harvest and a fruit cake for dessert. It wasn't much but it was all they could afford, and with each other as company neither minded. In the evening when the two of them were sat by the fire they exchanged gifts. 3 each. One from the other; one from Santa; and one from Merlin's father, who had left them a box of wrapped items, each with a name and year to be opened; they were usually little trinkets or carvings that he had made, or an old book, again it wasn't much but each gift meant to world to them, even if Merlin couldn't remember him.

Arthur, meanwhile, had a very different Christmas. He had arrived home, going to his room to unpack, knowing that his father was working in his study and would not tolerate being disturbed. So Arthur was left to his own devices until dinner, prepared by the cook, his father didn't seem all to interested in hearing Arthurs tales of Hogwarts, brushing off any questions that Arthur would ask him about possible magical heritage because in History of Magic, which was taught by professor Binns, who was a ghost by the way, had said that even in muggle borns most could track some kind of magical heritage so if it were possible that he or mother had had some relative who,

Uther excused himself from the table, claiming that he had to work, leaving a disheartened Arthur to finish his dinner alone.

The days repeated like this, Arthur would spend his time either in his room completing the holiday homework that had been set, or helping in the kitchen, chatting to the cook. He didn't see much of Uther who was often locked in his study and would yell at any who dared to disturb him. Then on Christmas Eve Uther briefly said goodbye to Arthur, that he had a business trip, and left without so much as a merry Christmas.

Arthur didn't mind too much, this was a frequent occurrence, Uther being called away on business, leaving Arthur with the servants who had practically raised him, part of his family. So in the end Arthur too enjoyed a quiet Christmas, in the cosy kitchen. His pile of presents weren't nearly as meaningful, there were gadgets and gizmos, cool toys and an elite bike. Arthur wondered why his father would buy him such lavish gifts, when he knew that he could take none of them with him, they would just sit in his room till he was next home, and even then may not get much use. The house keeper, Arthurs former nanny before he got too old to have one, and who had been writing to Arthur, seeing as his father refused to use Owls, had heard all about Quidditch and the different positions; knowing that Arthur loved the idea of one day being the Gryffindor keeper, had gone out and purchased him a Christmas present. Arthur had not expected it and when he tore off the paper to find a baseball mitt and ball so that he could practice his catching skills so that he could catch the ball when he got to be keeper. Arthur laughed and thanked her with a hug, knowing that there were some people at home who cared enough to pay attention to the little things that he said.

* * *

Then the holidays were over and everyone had returned to Hogwarts, lessons were in full swing and all the first years found themselves caught up in their school work and the excitement of everyday life at Hogwarts, betting who would be the next to get detention (Gwaine was the front runner if peoples track records were anything to go by!) discussing what Peeves' next prank would be, or exploring a new passage way that had been discovered.

Before they knew it, it was the Easter holidays; Merlin went home to Ealdor whilst Arthur and most the other Gryffindor boys remained at Hogwarts, causing all sorts of trouble around the castle before the term began once more. It felt like time was moving even quicker than before, suddenly there were only a couple of months left; then only one; then two weeks. The Gryffindors found themselves caught up in the excitement for the final Quidditch match of the year, the decider of who got to take home the title as Champions. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin which meant that the tension was even higher between the two houses than normal. There had already been a couple of scuffles between members of the two houses, which only stopped when McGonagall threatened to cancel it once and for all.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: This was originally all going to be chapter 3, but then it was over 5,000 words long, which I know is a bit over kill for a single chapter! That's why it's been split up, just cuz I love you guys! It was all written as one, just an over view of the year. Originally it was just going to be like 1,000 words saying how they drifted apart; Merlin had no friends, etc. but then as I was writing I kept wanting to add a little bit more in here and there, and that little bit more turned into over 4,000 words more! This is no original chapter 3, but I am actually quite pleased with how it all turned out. There are actually quite a few ideas from the original chapter 3 that I was able to remember and add in. Please feel free to leave a review, I always love to hear from people, constructive criticism is welcome, and I hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

It was the penultimate day of the year, and for Arthur that meant Quidditch! He was so excited that that morning he walked into the great hall for breakfast, already proudly sporting his house colours even though the match wasn't until after lunch. His friends quickly joined him, also wearing various combinations of red and yellow to support their house.

Arthur finished first and had agreed to run back to the dorm because Elyan had forgotten the face paint that had been brought for just such an occasion. On his way out of the great hall Arthur saw a figure in a yellow and black jumper with jet black hair. Arthur jogged after the figure who gave a small yelp of surprise when the Gryffindor grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him out of the way of foot traffic.

"Arthur!"  
"Hey Merlin" he replied jovially as the two boys hugged,  
"you scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing sneaking up on people?"  
"I was hardly sneaking, I called your name three times!" Arthur responded with a laugh  
"Oh, sorry, I was reading" Merlin said holding up the book that he had in his arms  
"Ah it's okay! You're coming to the Quidditch match today, yeah?" Arthur asked, smiling broadly at Merlin  
"Actually no," Arthurs face dropped with disappointment, why would someone not go to a Quidditch match?!  
"C'mon Merlin, we can sneak you into the Gryffindor stands and you can watch it with us!" Arthur begged, pulling gently at Merlin's sleeve  
"Sorry, I'm helping Professor Sprout move some of the plants in the Herbology greenhouses to one of the fireplaces so that she can floo-powder them home to look after over the summer. Only the ones that need real attention, she has just left instructions for Filtch on how and when to water and feed the rest." Merlin rambled with a smile  
"That sucks! What did you do to get detention? Must have been pretty bad for you to be missing the match!" Merlin's ears went red with embarrassment, he should have figured that Arthur would think it was lame, to him they were just dumb plants, what's a plant to a broom in his mind?  
"Actually… I volunteered to help, I really like Herbology and it's easiest to do it when there aren't loads of students around, so during the match is perfect… plus Quidditch isn't really my thing." He responded his eyes flicking to the floor and his smile faded,  
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean Herbology sucked, just that you were missing the match…" It was Arthur's turn to go red, feeling guilty as he tried to backtrack, but before he could think of what to say next Merlin spoke,  
"Well I'd better be going, I have to give this book back to Madam Pince before I go to the greenhouses. Enjoy the match, tell your friends I said hi!" and with that Merlin ducked his head and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Arthur confused by the boy's behaviour.

* * *

He hadn't seen much of Merlin since the year began, except for in class were they would occasionally make eye contact and exchange a small smile, but then outside of class he would hang out with Leon, Percival and the others, and Merlin would hang out with… Arthur's thoughts trailed off; he couldn't actually think of a time when he had seen Merlin hanging out with a group of Hufflepuffs. Of course they all seemed nice enough; they are Hufflepuff after all, just Merlin was never with them. Left with the troubling idea of Merlin's isolation Arthur headed to the dorms.

During the match Arthur tried to get caught up in the match, to cheer along with his friends, supporting his house… but he just couldn't. His mind kept wandering to Merlin; they had become best friends on the first day, but just drifted apart, all because of the stupid divide between houses. When he thought about it, he realised how much he had missed Merlin, even though they had not been able to talk much he remembered thinking on many occasions over the year how Merlin's quick wit and light hearted humour would have fit perfectly into conversations. Oh how he wished Merlin had been in Gryffindor… or even he in Hufflepuff, if it meant they could have been together.

When the match had been won, Gryffindor returning victorious, Arthur excused himself from the group of celebrating Gryffindors and slipped away in the direction of the greenhouses. When he arrived he found Professor Sprout quietly chattering away to her plants as she watered them and organising various bits and bobs. Knocking gently on the glass he brought the professor's attention to him,  
"Sorry to disturb you Professor, but do you know where Merlin is? He said he was going to be helping you during the match,"  
"Oh yes of course, Merlin was such a help! I'm sorry to say that you just missed him; he was heading back to the Hufflepuff dormitories to get cleaned up before the feast, some of the more lively plants have taken to throwing soil at people! Still, not to worry, I will have them out of that habit before the start of the new Year!" Professor Sprout chattered happily, with a smile reaching her twinkling eyes as she did so  
"Thanks Professor!" Arthur responded, grinning back as he darted out the door, running now in the direction of the castle.

He caught sight of the scruffy mop of black hair disappearing into the castle, he fastened his pace. He caught up to the boy just before he reached a large painting of an overflowing fruit bowl, down a dead ended passageway. He once more managed to startle Merlin who let out a small yelp as Arthur grabbed his arm once more as he spun round to face Arthur, mud smeared on his face and clothes,  
"Jeez Arthur! You have to stop doing that!"  
"Sorry Merlin! Look about what I said earlier,"  
"Don't worry about it," Merlin shrugged with a smile, "I know you didn't mean any harm by what you said, anyway, how was the Quidditch match?" Arthurs face lit up, relieved that Merlin seemed okay after their conversation earlier.  
"Really good, the excitement in the stands was amazing! Gryffindor won, of course, I think there's some kind party going on in the Gryffindor dormitory…" he trailed away and the two boys were left just smiling at one another.  
"You should go, enjoy the party!" Merlin said softly, dropping Arthurs gaze,  
"you should come" Arthur blurted out, Merlin's eyes darted back up,  
"Arthur you know I can't, I'm not Gryffindor, I'd stick out like a sore thumb!" Merlin said, resigned, gesturing to his soiled Hufflepuff jumper,  
"Then take that off! If you dress in red and yellow then you'll fit right in, you can come and celebrate with us!"  
"Arthur, I would love to… but you remember what happened at the start of the year… I… I'd really like to avoid any other encounters of a similar nature, and that was just for sitting at the wrong table; I dread to think what some slightly drunken Gryffindors will do if they find me in their _common room!_ Sorry Arthur,"

Arthur hung his head, he knew Merlin was right, there had been rumours going round the Gryffindor tower that some of the older students had acquired some barrels of butter beer and bottles of fire whiskey, and he understood Merlin's fear, remembering the look in the sixth year's eye when he had had Merlin on the ground.  
"No, it's alright. I understand, I just wish we could hang out, like properly, not just short conversations in the corridors every now and then, but like properly, you know?" Merlin nodded, he too would like nothing more. Arthur watched as a small smile crept across Merlin's face,  
"You know…" he said slowly, "The Hufflepuff common room is always empty by Midnight, so…" Merlin left his sentence there, looking at Arthur with hopeful eyes and slightly a slightly raised brow. Arthur held Merlin's gaze, a smile also growing on his face  
"Midnight you say?"


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: Chapter 5! Or rather chapter 3, version 2, part 3! This bit is meant to just be a bit cute and fluffy (end slightly not so) I promise that there will be a happy ending to the fic! I am pledged to give Merthur the 'Happily Ever After' that they deserve! Speaking of Merthur you may be able to feel some of the vibes coming through already even though they're only whatever the male equivalent to a baby dyke is (sorry, only know lesbian terminology for most things!) But yeah, once again I hope you enjoy the chapter and please do leave a review, it just makes me so happy when I do get one, and it really motivates me to write! (except for on this one story cuz I have no idea what to do with it and there is no plot or plan so whenever someone follows, favourites or reviews it I feel like I'm letting them down!) Thankfully that story is not this one; I have a 2,000+ word plan plus a diagram for this one! Anyway, enjoy!_**

* * *

The two said goodbye, hugging tightly. Merlin went to wash of the dirt off and change into his robes for the feast; meanwhile Arthur went and enjoyed the celebrations happening in the Gryffindor common room, before McGonagall entered the room, silence falling almost instantly at her presence, she congratulated the team on their success before instructing them all to change into their robes before the feast.

When they entered the Great Hall, to their delight they saw banners of gold and red hung from the ceiling. Everyone enjoyed the feast; the Slytherins slightly less than the others due to their defeat at the Quidditch match and just narrowly losing the House Cup. The food was delicious as always and all were celebrating a year well spent at Hogwarts; the faculty toasted to the end of the year; the students cheered for the summer holidays, and all too soon Dumbledore was giving a final speech, McGonagall was reminding them of the rules against using magic outside of Hogwarts, then they were being dismissed from the Great Hall.

In the Gryffindor common room the second party of the night broke out and was in full swing for nearly 3 hours before McGonagall told them that it was time for bed, as they all had to be up bright and early in the morning to pack before the Hogwarts Express left for Kings cross Station. Soon the common room was empty, smaller parties still continued in some of the older students dormitories but the excitement of the Quidditch match and the feast had tired the younger Gryffindors; Gwaine didn't even undress before collapsing into bed, Percival ended up having to pull off his shoes for him so that he wouldn't get dirt everywhere, a few of the others stayed up and chatted for about 15 minutes but soon they too were yawning and fell asleep, leaving Arthur to silently slip out unnoticed.

Meanwhile, in the Hufflepuff common room, some of seventh years sat round, toasting their final night in the place that they had called home for the past seven years, they nostalgically gazed round the common room, telling stories of pranks and of little secrets around the castle to the younger years who listened and laughed. Others sat and read together until the fire began to die down and slowly they trickled out, off to their dorms; for the seventh years for one final night in those beds and to lay awake, reminiscing over their time at Hogwarts.

* * *

Arthur arrived just before midnight; Merlin had told him to go to the painting of the fruit, then to keep going till he reached the end of the corridor. Arthur did this, confused as to how a dead end could help, there was no painted guardian waiting for a password as there was with the Gryffindor tower, only a stack of huge barrels. Arthur was just about to turn back, thinking that it must have just been some kind of joke, maybe payback for what he had said about Herbology earlier, when the front of one of the barrels swung open, revealing Merlin stood just inside, smiling out at a surprised Arthur.

"C'mon then dollop head! Don't just stand there!" Merlin chuckled as he grabbed Arthurs sleeve and pulled him in,  
"Dollop head? What's a dollop head?" Arthur replied indignantly, still a bit surprised by the entrance. He now stood on a short passage way, curved like a tunnel made of smooth pale stone, torches mounted on either side so that it was bathed in soft yellow light.  
"A dollop head is you when you stand around with that look on your face!" Merlin said with a laugh as he led Arthur down and out into the open space of the Hufflepuff common room. Arthur stood there for a moment, looking around him. He had not been in any common room but Gryffindors, until now. He found himself in a round, low ceilinged room, decorated with black and yellow. There were high windows that showed the inky darkness of the night outside, there were a great many plants, some sat on the curved bookcases attached to the wall which was also decorated with worn books that people had left for others to enjoy, there were hanging pot from which other plans spilled over the side, leaving them dangling above the boys heads. There were tables and chairs of polished honey coloured wood; near the fire were a few comfortable chairs and a small sofa that had been worn and patched so much that it was difficult to tell if they were originally black or yellow!

Merlin wandered over and plonked himself down on the sofa, whilst Arthur admired the badger carvings on the fire place and smiled as the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff that hung above gave him a friendly smile and wave, which he returned. He sat down next to Merlin, glancing over at him, bathed in the yellow glow of the fire.

"Your common rooms very nice," he said softly, smiling as Merlin looked over at him,  
"Thanks, you should see it on a summers day, the windows are just above ground level and they get so much sunlight, when the room is full of people just going about their business, reading, chatting, doing homework or whatever, and there is golden sunlight streaming in… it's just…beautiful." Merlin replied, his voice full of reverence.  
"I hope that one day you can come see my common room, it's got a grander feeling than this can sometimes be a bit… almost intimidating in the day, but at night when its quiet, and there is just the firelight it can be cosy. Of course you have to be careful, McGonagall sometimes comes round to check that people are actually in their beds and not still up in the common room," Arthur explained, still using a quiet tone as not to wake any of the other Hufflepuffs.

And so the night went on, Merlin and Arthur sat in their pyjamas on the small sofa and chatted, occasionally lulling into a comfortable silence where they would both sit and watch the fire gently crackle away. As they boys began to get tired and felt their eyelids start to droop Arthur mumbled something about heading back to his dorm… he wasn't awake long enough to hear Merlin's response.

* * *

When the two boys did awake the pale morning sun was creeping through the small round windows. Still half asleep the two boys didn't move from their comfortable position that had become Merlin led against Arthur. It wasn't until there were sounds of some of the other Hufflepuffs beginning to wake that finally spurred them to untangle themselves before they were discovered. Merlin opened the large round door that formed the other side of the barrel, the two boys hugged goodbye before Merlin watched as Arthur snuck off down the corridor, round the corner and out of sight.

When Arthur got back to his dorm he cursed under his breath when he found that the others were already awake; they teased him, Gwaine especially, asking if he had been out all night with his girlfriend. Arthur just brushed them off, quickly dressed before packing his final few possession into his trunk.

At breakfast Merlin caught Arthur's eye from his table, they shared a smile before Arthur got pulled back into the conversation going on between Leon and Gwaine where they were arguing whose hair was better. In the end Arthur agreed that Gwaine would probably win if he washed his more often, but due to his late of upkeep Leon won, his hair was just softer and fluffier than Gwaine's, which they decided were two of the deciding factors.

* * *

Soon they were all climbing aboard the Hogwarts Express for the last time as first years. Once the Gryffindors had found a compartment Arthur disappeared, returning with Merlin who had been awkwardly say with some 5th year Slytherins further down the train. The seven boys chatted and laughed. When the other Gryffindors recounted to Merlin how Arthur had snuck out in the dead of night to go see his girlfriend Arthur, went red, not meeting Merlin's eye until he heard him laugh, to which he smiled back. All too soon they were nearing Kings Cross and they hurried to change into normal clothing. Once at Kings Cross it was a mad rush of everyone getting bags and birds and brooms off the train.

Merlin quickly spotted his mother and, grabbing Arthur, ran over to meet her. Arthur watched as the two embraced, feeling a pang of what he could only describe as jealousy, but it didn't last for long as Merlin introduced his mother to Arthur and she pulled Arthur in for a hug too, telling him how wonderful it was to meet him and how relieving it was to know that Merlin had made some friends at Hogwarts.

As they were chatting Arthur felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, in shock he spun around, only to get an even bigger shock to see his father standing there. He vocalised this astonishment as he had thought he would be on a business trip, or at least use one as an excuses not to have to come, for Uther did not seem to like the magical world. By the looks of the expression on his face he still had that opinion. Merlin quickly introduced himself, offering his had to Uther who reluctantly took it. He then ordered Arthur to say goodbye and that they were going home now.

Arthur looked more solemn now, he was able to produce a small smile for Hunith and Merlin, who both hugged him goodbye, he called out that he promised to write to Merlin as his father pulled him away. All he was able to do was shout goodbye and wave when he was dragged past the other Gryffindors, who waved back in confusion. Of course they had heard of Uther but he seemed even worse than Arthur had described him as. Their only solace was that they would see him again next term.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, sorry this has taken so long to post, I was really busy over the summer and starting sixth form has hit me like a tonne of bricks! Anyway, here is chapter 6 and I am starting work on chapter 7 as we speak so hopefully that will be up before the end of the month! I hope you like this, I know that not all of it may be considered 100% cannon but that's part of the joy of fiction, you get to bend the rules a little! Please leave a comment as I just love to hear from people and it honestly really does help to motivate me to write more if I know that people are enjoying it, constructive criticism is always welcome too as I am always looking for ways to improve :)

* * *

Merlin was delighted when the first letter arrived; he had hoped that Arthur would reach out. Hunith watched as her son grinned, reading the letter over and over as he shovelled his breakfast in as fast as he could. When he was done he read it one last time before stashing it in his room and running out to play with the other children in the village. That evening Merlin sat by the fire and wrote his reply, sending his owl, Kilgharrah, to deliver the letter the next morning.

Uther gained a pained look as Arthur walked into the dining room, an owl on his arm and a letter in his hand. The bird perched on the arm of Arthur chair as he offered him some cereal,  
"Arthur. Is that really necessary?" Uther asked with his jaw clenched,  
"Father, he's had to fly all the way from Ealdor, he's tired and needs food, it's considered impolite to send back someone's owl without feeding it. I'm going to get Kilgharrah some water before sending him back." With that Arthur left his father getting increasingly uncomfortable as the owl continued to fix him with a steely gaze.

Back and forth owls flew between the two homes. Each letter was met with smiles and a fast response. Then Merlin noticed that Arthur was responding less and less, more time passed between the letters. There were times when Merlin was worried that he was being too needy but he soon found out that the problem lay with Uther…

One day as Merlin was helping his mother in the garden when Arthurs owl swooped down, dropping an envelope on the grass before retreating to the perch that was usually occupied by Kilgharrah, bowls of food and water hanging from it. Merlin jogged over and picked up the envelope, he turned to his mother with a face of confusion, the envelope was red. Tentatively Merlin eased open the envelope, Arthurs voice chatting away,  
"Hey Merlin,  
Sounds like you had a great time at the village fair, I wish we had those kind of things here but it's a very corporate atmosphere. My father had mentioned going abroad but he's been tied up in work for most the holidays.  
Yesterday Marie, my old nanny, showed me how to make fruit cake without all the fruit falling to the bottom, I had a piece after dinner and thought it was quite good but Father said that it needs work. Anyway, I was wondering if you had finished reading that book that Flitwick told us to read over the." Arthurs voice was cut off and replaced by a loud angry one that Merlin quickly recognised as Uther's,  
" **ARTHUR, FOR CHRIST SAKE I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT YOU ARE TO STOP WITH THIS SILLY WRITING NONSENSE. I HAVE WARNED YOU; WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK WITH THOSE OWLS FLYING IN AND OUT THE WINDOW EVERY MORNING? THIS ISN'T A PETTING ZOO AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT ANY MORE. THIS MAGIC HAS CHANGED YOU. YOU WERE MY SON AND YOU WERE GOING TO INHERIT A THRIVING BUSINESS AND MAKE ME PROUD, INSTEAD YOU'RE JUST MESSING AROUND WITH ALL THIS RUBBISH, SENDING LETTERS TO ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE FREAKS; ALL THE MAGIC KILLED YOUR MOTHER AND IT WILL BE THE DEATH OF YOU TOO!** "

Merlin and Hunith stood in stunned silence. The magic endowed letter must have picked up Uther's anger, turning it into a howler. Merlin wished that he could see Arthur, make sure he was okay. He had never mentioned that his mother's death was caused by magic… maybe he didn't know. They watched as the letter disintegrated into ashes. Quietly Merlin slipped away to write a hasty reply, concerned for his friends wellbeing.

Arthur smuggled Kilgharrah into his room, he had arrived shortly after nightfall so thankfully Uther hadn't seen. His father and he had both been shocked when the letter had turned scarlet, and before either could react to this, Arthur's owl had swooped down, snatching the letter off the desk and flying out the window. After that Uther had only been more enraged, banning Arthur from sending any more letters to 'that damned little wizard brat' otherwise he wouldn't be going back to 'that infernal school'.

Arthur quickly fed Kilgharrah and sent him back into the night before hiding under his duvet to read Merlin's letter by torchlight. He had a small smile at his friends concern, it was nice to know that someone cared; he also felt ashamed that Merlin had had to hear that, the comments about magic and him, though Merlin seemed to understand. His heart leapt slightly at Merlin's offer of staying with him for the rest of the summer, but he quickly realised that his father would never agree to it.

Arthur stashed the letter and wrote a quick response, thanking Merlin for the offer but that he would have to decline. Also asking him not to send his owl back till the evening and not to be hurt if he doesn't hear from him again for the remainder of the holiday; Arthur signed the letter and sent his own owl out into the night after checking that his father was asleep.

When Merlin awoke to a letter from Arthur he smiled, but that quickly vanished as he read the contents, there were only two weeks left of the summer holidays, but he was worried what might happen to Arthur in that time. Still, Merlin reasoned with himself, he had to respect Arthur's wishes and it was probably safer from him if he did as he was told. That evening Merlin sent Arthur's owl out into the dusk with a small note warning him that if he wasn't back at Hogwarts he would be sending in the cavalry!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well I did promise that it would before the end of the month! Been burning the midnight/1:30am oil over here! Just a cute little chapter where Arthur makes a new friend and gives some experienced advice. I'll hopefully have Chapter 8 up soon too (though not tonight!)and again, please do leave a comment and any constructive criticism! Enjoy :)

* * *

Once again Merlin was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Platform 9¾, he had forgotten the energy that just seemed to radiate from all the excited students as they clambered on board the Hogwarts Express in the mad rush to get a seat with their friends. Merlin wandered down the passageway as the train jolted into action, the sudden motion caused Merlin to stumble and crash into a student who was emerging from one of the compartments, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Merlin!" He heard a voice from under him, he quickly sat up, "We really have to stop meeting like this!" Arthur laughed as Merlin clambered off him and helped him up. Before Arthur had finished his laughter Merlin pulled him into a quick hug. "What was that for?" Arthur asked with a smile,  
"Cuz I was worried about you, dollophead!" Merlin smiled back,  
"Well I'm here now so no need to worry! Come sit with us, all the guys are in here," Arthur pulled Merlin into the compartment that he had been exiting when they collided. He was greeted by a chorus of 'hey Merlin's and 'how were your holidays's. He was pulled into a seat between Arthur and Lancelot.

The journey was filled with chatter and laughter, the boys talking about their subject this year, their hopes for the Quidditch season and what had happened over the holidays; Merlin noticed that Arthur was rather quiet during the last part of the conversation. Soon they were changing into their uniforms and pulling into the station. The boys were all excited at the prospect of getting to ride in the carriages that were pulled by nothing. Once at the castle, Merlin gave his friends a small wave as he was ushered over to the Hufflepuff table and them to Gryffindor.

The new first years were lead into the Great Hall and the sorting ceremony began. Students clapped when a student was sorted into a house, and cheered when that house was their own, House pride was something that was most evident at the great feasts. Merlin noticed that the Gryffindor boys cheered hardest for a small first year girl, wondering who she was Merlin made a mental note to ask Arthur later. The rest of the ceremony went on and then the feast commenced before they retired to their dorms.

* * *

A couple of days later, Arthur awoke early, excited for lessons at Hogwarts to begin again that day, he decided to go have a look around before the castle started to wake, he pulled on a jumper over his pyjamas and padded down to the empty common room and over to the door. When it swung open he wasn't too surprised to find a first year curled up on the floor, having obviously forgotten the password last night. He gently woke to girl, surprised to see it was Elyan's little sister; she was shivering and so he helped her through the doorway and into one of the chairs closest to the fire.

"It's Gwen, right?" Arthur asked her after a few moments of silence, she nodded as she extended her hands towards the heat from the fire. "I'm Arthur, I'm Elyan's friend. Congratulations on getting sorted into Gryffindor!"  
"Honestly I was surprised, I thought that I was going to be Hufflepuff,"  
"Well, Gwen, that must meant that there is more to you than you know. Anyways, Hufflepuff is a good house to be sorted into; some people will say that it's a house for 'duffers' but honestly Hufflepuff is probably the second best house, after Gryffindor obviously! Ravenclaw's are nice too, though I've been told that it's best to avoid them around exam time as they can get really stressed! Be careful with Slytherin though, they can be cruel." Gwen's head dropped at the last comment,  
"That's the reason I was stuck outside…"  
"What, some Slytherin's trapped you out there?"  
"No, because of what you all think of Slytherin's, they're not all bad but you Gryffindors seem too blinded by your hatred to realise that!" Arthur was lost for words, had he really been doing to the Slytherin's what that older boy had done to Merlin? "I made a friend on the train here, she was sorted into Slytherin but I didn't care so we've been spending time together and then I forgot the password and some older Gryffindor's had seen me 'consorting with the enemy' and called me a traitor and refused to let me in, that's why I was sleeping outside."

They sat in silence for a minute or so before Arthur was able to come up with something to say,  
"I'm sorry… for what I said, I have a friend in Hufflepuff and I know how hard it can be to spend time with someone outside of your house, must be even worse for you because one of you is a Gryffindor and the other Slytherin, I mean our houses aren't exactly known for getting on!" Gwen accepted his apology with a smile,  
"Yeah, but some friendships are worth fighting for, I mean, we just work so well together and she's not bad, even if people see her that way I know that she's not."  
"Exactly, don't let what other people think get in the way of your friendship, but at the same time Gwen, you have to be careful, there are some students here who really oppose inter-house friendships, I mean to the point where they might shove you round, I've seen it happen, I've had it happen to me and Merlin. But if you ever need backup I'll always help you out, and so will the others." They could hear people start to stir in the dorms above.  
"Thanks Arthur, I appreciate it. I should probably go get dressed, don't want to be running late on my first proper day!"  
"Yeah, have a good day… Oh, Gwen, what's your friends name, so I know who to look out for?"  
"Morgana, her name's Morgana."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Just a cute lil chapter set in the Gryffindor common room in the evening, shout out to my amazing friend Vivy Potter who was my beta for this chapter because I just hit a wall with it and couldn't tell if it was good or bad! Please go check out her work, it is so detailed and so much better than mine. Her current project is a Harry Potter fic where Harry goes back in time and meets young Riddle. Please PLEASE go check out her stuff on here, her pen name is 'VivyPotter', thanks! I hope you like this episode and please review with what you like and what you don't, I write to please you!

* * *

School had been running for a few weeks and Gwen had firmly established her place in the group. It was one evening when they were all in the Gryffindor common room- Merlin having been smuggled in wearing a Gryffindor scarf that covered his tie and badge- that Gwen asked if she could introduce a friend to them. Arthur was pretty sure that he knew what was going to happen next, but the other boys looked on quizzically, pestering Gwen for more details.

"You'll find out tomorrow, I'll bring her here in the evening, same way you guys get Merlin in," was all she would say. There were a couple of grumbles but they eventually agreed. At the end of the evening, Arthur pulled Gwen aside once they had seen Merlin safely out.

"Gwen, you need to be careful."

Gwen opened her mouth in protest.

"I don't mean careful of Morgana, I mean careful bringing her _here._ There are a lot of people who wouldn't be too happy to find a Slytherin in our common room… so just be careful."

* * *

The next evening, as the boys sat near the fire in their little corner chattering away, Gwen appeared in the common room. She glanced around before disappearing for a few seconds, only to reappear with a dark haired girl, wrapped tightly in a red and yellow scarf. She pulled the girl over to the corner where the two of them collapsed onto one of the worn red loveseat sofas that the boys had dragged so it was facing inwards, away from the rest of the common room.

"This," Gwen announced as she helped to unwind the scarf that hid half of her friend's face, "is Morgana."

Letting the scarf hang around her neck, glancing round at the faces, Gwen could tell that they were all dubious about the Slytherin girl.

"Gwen, you're risking a lot bringing her here…" Elyan said in a hushed, concerned tone.

Some of the other boys mumbled in agreement.

"Morgana's my friend, it doesn't matter that she's a Slytherin anymore that it matters that Merlin is a Hufflepuff." Gwen argued with her brother, slinging her arm around Morgana's shoulder, who flashed her a perfect, white smile.

"Gwen's right, I think that we should judge Morgana on her own merit, not on her house." Arthur joined in in an assertive tone, giving Gwen a small nod and smile.

The others fell silent, and slowly the conversation began to pick up again. Though some of the Gryffindor boys would glance at Morgana to try and make a judgement, no one said anything against her.

* * *

After a few hours they had all settled down and were chatting freely. Merlin had smuggled up some food from the kitchen that they snacked on as they talked. Gwaine was sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Percival's chair, who was plaiting his hair into French braids, and Leon was next to them. Merlin and Arthur occupied the other loveseat, sharing an old blanket. Merlin had fallen asleep on Arthur's shoulder (not that he minded: Merlin had this cute snuffle that happened every few breaths when asleep). Elyan and Lancelot had their own armchairs, and Lancelot sat with one leg slung over the arm. Morgana had kicked off her shoes and was laid over the length of the small sofa, her head resting on Gwen's lap who was gently playing with her dark hair.

* * *

By the end of the evening even Elyan had warmed to Morgana; his only worry for their safety around other students. When the time came for Morgana and Merlin to go back to their dorms, they were once again wrapped up in the Gryffindor scarfs. Gwen walked them to the door where she pulled Morgana in and held her close, the two girls laughing as Morgana nearly pulled them both over whilst hugging her back.

Merlin and Morgana chatted as they descended to the lower levels of the castle.

"So, you and Gwen seem very close," Merlin fished for more details.

Well I could say the same about you and Arthur," Morgana returned coolly in her smooth Scottish accent, as Merlin blushed and stumbled over his words.

"What… no, that's not, we're just, it's not like… we're just friends okay?"

"Sure. Well, I had fun tonight, thanks not being ridiculous about the whole Slytherin thing."

"No problem, I know what it's like with all the idiots out there and their house segregation nonsense," Merlin replied with a shrug. "This is where we part ways, nice to meet you, Morgana. Hope you'll join us again tomorrow!"

And with that, Merlin gave a funny little bow and hand twirl before spinning round, only to stumble at the last second. His only option was to play cool and walk it off. As he went, he turned and gave Morgana a goofy grin and a wave.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry it has been so long, you know how it is, school work and broken computers, lack of inspiration and some missing motivation! But do not fret for chapter 9 is here! There will be one or two more chapters for second year and hopefully I'll have them up soon, as I am on study leave so spend my days around the house trying to find ways to avoid having to do revision, I mean today I made a three tiered coffee cake as means of procrastination! (and it was delicious!)  
As always, I hope you liked this chapter and please leave a review telling me what you did/didn't like, I am writing this for you guys so if you want some input I'm all ears. Also receiving reviews really does motivate me to write more, so if you want chapter 10 soon then you know what to do!

* * *

Merlin applauded from the stands as Arthur, Percival and Gwaine tossed a quaffle between them and through the hoops, racing against each other on their brooms and trying to outdo each other with fancy tricks, Merlin was thankful that Leon had had the sense to cast a levitation spell otherwise Gwaine would have had to have had several visits to Madam Pomfrey for trying to show off and one-up the others.

The boys had been spending more and more time outside, practising for Quidditch try outs, they knew it was unlikely they would make the team but they had fun none the less. The other boys sat in the stands, trying to figure out the homework that Flitwick had set. Gwen sat huddled together with Morgana, poring over a transfiguration text book. They would occasionally ask each other questions about homework or cheer encouragement to the boys on brooms, but most the time they sat quietly, concentrating on work and keeping warm.

* * *

The weather was getting colder each day as autumn began to change to winter, and whilst Arthur stayed practising outside with Percival and Gwaine, the others began spending more time inside by fires, with hot drinks and blankets. At first Merlin would sneak into the Gryffindor common room to do homework with the others, but this usually being so early in the evening meant that it was generally quite busy. After a couple of incidents of older Gryffindors threatening him if they found him there again, Merlin stayed in the Hufflepuff common room, and would go up to meet them in the evening when things had quietened down.

This worked for a while, but as the term dragged on the Gryffindors would retreat to their dorm earlier, especially those tired from Quidditch practise. So slowly Merlin found himself spending less time in the Gryffindor Tower; every night became a few nights a week, that became once a week, before dropping to every couple of weeks, finally resulting in every now and then turning into just seeing each other in a couple of classes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gwen and Morgana were growing closer; they spent more and more time together, mostly in communal areas like the library, where they could find a quiet corner where older students wouldn't bother them. Of course there were occasions where people did make comments, after all, Gryffindor and Slytherin friendships were the ones that caused the most turmoil. Because of this they would meet up in a secretive place rather than move round the castle together.

On one occasion however, Madam Pince had shut the library for the day, something about some idiot breaking into the restricted section the night before. So the girls met outside the library and decided to go to the Gryffindor common room, it was much warmer than the Slytherin one. As they were nearing the Fat Lady, who would usually be reluctant to let an outsider in but never the less always open for them (provided they knew the password). There was a group of older Gryffindor students in the corridor up ahead. The girls slowed down, weary of them, despite Morgana's tie and badge being hidden by Gwen's Gryffindor scarf.

They could hear the older students complaining that the Fat Lady had wandered off to another painting, leaving them unable to get into the common room. Some of the quieter ones had resigned to the fact that they would likely be there a while and so had settled on the floor with a book, or hunched over an essay with a quill. The more restless of the group were obviously getting bored with waiting, and were loudly complaining about anything they could think of, and finding ways to blame most of what goes wrong around the castle on the Slytherins.

* * *

After standing at the edge of the crowd for a few minutes Gwen could tell that Morgana was getting uneasy and so gently tugged at her sleeve, pulling her away so they could talk.

"Let's find somewhere else to go, knowing the Fat Lady it could be hours before she's back, and they don't seem too happy," Gwen said, nodding her head towards the older students, who were getting increasingly loud.

"Agreed" Morgana replied with a nod, frowning slightly as she glanced back towards the crowd. "We could try the Slytherin common room, it's not as warm but at least we'll actually be able to get in!" It was at that moment that one of the older students had moved away from the main group, and was just in earshot of the girls. He was a large, burly boy of about 14. He had a stocky build and an accent from somewhere around Essex or London and he spoke in slightly broken English.

"Wot do ya mean? Why would you go down to that snake pit?" He spoke loudly enough that it got the attention of a few other boys in the crowd who moved over to see what was going on. Morgana and Gwen shrunk back, suddenly very aware of the onlookers and their height and weight advantage. They stammered a few words trying to backtrack themselves out of trouble but with no success. "Ya wouldn't be goin' down there unless one of ya was one of them snakes…" the boy continued, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He moved very quickly considering his size, suddenly darting forwards and grabbing away the scarf, revealing a green and silver tie and badge emblazoned with a serpent.

The onlookers let out a roar, finally something interesting was going to happen. A couple of the grabbed Gwen, whilst the first boy held Morgana tightly by the arm, leaning so close to her face that she could feel his hot breath and flecks of spit hit her as he yelled.

"DID YA REALLY THINK DAT YA COULD JUST WALTZ INTO OUR COMMON ROOM? YA SNAKES ARE ALL THE SAME, THINK DAT YA OWN THE PLACE AND DAT YOU CAN DO AS YOU PLEASE. WELL WE'LL SHOW YA WHAT HAPPENS TO A SNAKE THAT SLITHERS TOO FAR FROM IT'S HOLE." With that he let go of her arm and pushed her hard so that she collided with the stone wall behind, her head hitting it hard and the impact causing her to fall to the ground. The boy gave her a couple of sharp kicks to the stomach before turning to Gwen, who had been struggling against the boys that held her.

"LET ME GO!" she protested "MORGANA!" She tried desperately to reach her friend but soon found herself in a similar position, the boy screaming in her face about being a traitor, and how she was a disgrace that wasn't worthy of Gryffindor. She couldn't care less about what he had to say, she kept her eyes on Morgana who was still on the floor. Gwen's attention didn't turn to the boy until he slapped her across the face, leaving a red mark and a taste of blood in her mouth. He raised his hand again when there was a yell from the crowd that had gathered to watch.

He turned to see some second years pushing their way through the crowd.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Arthur shouted, the other boys joining in as they broke free of the rabble,

"Oh yeah?" the older boy jeered at them, "Why don't ya make me little man?" still keeping a tight hold on Gwen. Percival, Leon and Lancelot squared up to the other two boys who backed off slightly as they could see they were outnumbered and the boys mostly matched them in height and build.

Elyan wasn't going to stand round and let Arthur deal with the older boy, Gwen was his sister and, despite being weary of her in the past, he had grown to like Morgana and if Gwen cared about her then it was a good enough reason for him. He drew back his arm and swung a punch that landed square in the older boy's jaw. This took him by surprise, he shoved Gwen, causing her to collide with the wall like Morgana did. The boy prepared his own punch and was about to deck Elyan when someone let out a cry, warning everyone that a teacher was coming. There was chaos as the crowed tried to scatter. The boy shouted warnings of vengeance as he followed his friends down a passageway and out of sight.

It was suddenly very quiet. Gwen had crawled over to where Morgana had fallen and had the dark haired girl in her arms, Morgana moved slowly, obviously in quite a bit of pain and wrapped her arms around Gwen's waist. The boy's stood round slightly awkwardly until Percival broke the silence.

"So, where's that teacher that caused them all to run?" to this Gwaine let out a short laugh, the boys turning to look at him,

"It was you?" Arthur asked in surprise

"Well poor Elyan was about to have his lights knocked out so I figured that it was the only thing that would get them to stop." He said with a shrug and small smile.

Gwen carefully helped Morgana to her feet,

"Thank you, all of you, we got away with a few scrapes and bruises but it could have been so much worse if you guys hadn't shown up!" Gwen said, smiling round at them, a red hand print still clearly visible on her cheek. This was greeted by chorus of "no worries" and "it was the right thing to do"s. Morgana smiled at them too,

"You lot are regular knights in shining armour, with your chivalry and comradery"

"Knights, I rather like the sound of that!" Chuckled Arthur

"Of course you would, _King_ Arthur" Gwaine joked

"Well it's settled then, we shall now be the Knights of the Round Table!" Lancelot announced. Everyone laughed, even Gwaine who at first pulled a face at the idea.

"What are you all standing around for?" came a slightly shrill voice, the Fat Lady had returned, the Knights walked over,

"Albion" Arthur spoke the password and the door swung open, "You guys coming?" he called to the girls, Gwen shook her head.

"I'm going to take Morgana down to the hospital wing, make sure she's okay" Arthur nodded with a sympathetic smile as Morgana put her arm over Gwen's shoulders, and Gwen's went round Morgana's waist as the two made their way down the corridor.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: As promised here is chapter 10, study leave is over but now it is half term, so if you guys are lucky you might even get chapter 11 by the end of the week!  
I love hearing from you guys, so please leave a comment telling me what you did/didn't like. In the next chapter we are in to the third year!

* * *

Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Morgana with a concussion, keeping her overnight in the hospital wing, Gwen stayed at her bedside, despite Madam Pomfey's insisting on her leaving. In the following days Morgana was unable to read or write without feeling sick or getting a blinding headache, instead she convinced Gwen in to reading to her in the evening, in the library. They both agreed that the Gryffindor common room was too dangerous now. Every night they would smuggle blankets and biscuits into one of the reading nooks where only the studious ventures, these people were too preoccupied with their books or simply didn't care to make a fuss about a Slytherin curled up with her head on a Gryffindor's lap, sleepily nibbling on biscuits whilst the Gryffindor read quietly, whilst gently weaving her fingers through the Slytherins dark hair. On occasion a gangly Hufflepuff boy would be seen chattering with them before wandering off to find his own quite place to read.

Since 'the incident' Merlin's visits to the Gryffindor common room had dropped to barely anything, The 'Knights' as they were now referring to themselves, were rarely around anymore, they were always out practising for Quidditch try-outs, even when snow began to fall on the grounds they would stay out till McGonagall would threaten them with a week's worth of detention if they didn't 'come in this minute and get themselves to bed'.

* * *

Before long it was the Christmas holidays. Merlin returned home to his mother in Ealdor, Arthur stayed at Hogwarts with Lancelot for company. They spent their days playing wizard chess and learning new Quidditch tricks. Arthur received a short letter from his father that was obviously written by his secretary, just a generic merry Christmas and well wishes for the New Year. Merlin on the other hand wrote him three pages; it was easier to stay in contact when he didn't have to worry about being knocked about by older students. Arthur wrote back a letter of similar length. Over the holidays they sent a few more letters before the holiday ended and they had to return to writing essays.

* * *

The spring term flew past, Arthur threw himself back into Quidditch practise, despite not making the team, if anything it made him even more determined to get on the team next year. Morgana and Merlin were still avoiding the Gryffindor common room; there had been an increase in inter-house hate in the recent weeks so they had to be even more careful. Arthur had snuck down to the Hufflepuff common room a couple of times, but even the Hufflepuffs had become weary of outsiders, and there had been stories of people turning on members of their own house for 'fraternising with the enemy' as it had been put.

Merlin retreated into himself as the year started to draw to an end. He spent more and more time in the library, poring over books, learning about new things, practising new spells, most of them ending in an unsuccessful cloud of ash that would often earn him a disapproving frown from Madam Pince , though she never threw him out, he reckoned that she secretly liked him, or at least felt a bit sympathetic forwards him because he was almost always along, apart from the chats with Gwen and Morgana every now and then.

Then the summer holidays were upon them, on the train ride back Merlin shared a carriage with Morgana, Gwen, and a couple of second year Ravenclaws. On his way to get some food Merlin bumped into Arthur, on a similar mission. They chatted as they stood in line, about the school year, what plans they had for the holiday, Arthur explained some new Quidditch things he had learnt and Merlin gave him a few fun facts about the origins and other trivia. All too soon they were at the front of the queue. Calling goodbye and promising to write they went their separate ways.

* * *

As promised Merlin sent Arthur a letter, via Kilgharrah within the first couple of days of the holiday starting. He got a reply the following evening, Uther was sending Arthur away to a muggle summer camp, business training or something, apparently Uther was still hoping that Arthur would relinquish his magic and take over the family business. It was a muggle camp so he couldn't have an owl flying in and out every other day, and his father would hardly forward any letters.

Merlin spent most the summer lounging in the sun, working the vegetable patch or out playing with the village children. Arthur meanwhile spent the summer indoors, learning about the stock market, business statistics and all the other fun things a 13 year old boy wants to spend his summer learning about. The camp finished just a week before Arthur was due back at Hogwarts. In that week he wrote to Arthur and the other Knights, catching up on all that had happened.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** I hope you like this chapter, it's just a short introduction to the boys third year, and I do have to warn you guys that this might be a rough year, not just for Merlin but for some other character...  
This year we're going to be meeting 2 new characters who may be there for good, or may be there for evil. There are a couple of things that change from the cannon family trees, but I will explain all of that when we get there!  
As always, please Please PLEASE, leave me a comment or send me a message telling me what you did/didn't like, and just remember that it really encourages me to write more, as you can see fro how quickly the last two chapters have come out!

* * *

As their third year began there was the normal chaos, getting to the station on time, making it onto the platform, fighting through the hordes of parents, finding somewhere to sit and trying to locate friends. Then, once at Hogwarts, the feast, with its deafening chatter of teens who acted like they hadn't seen each other in years. No one got enough sleep on the first night; everyone would be too excited at being back and stay up talking long past lights out. The next week followed in suit, first years getting lost, older students starting new subjects, the teachers trying to get back into the swing of things after a summer of peace and quiet.

By the second week everyone was starting to readjust to life at Hogwarts. Merlin and the Knights had chosen their new subjects, all choosing to only take two elective subjects. Merlin had chosen divination and care of magical creatures.

In his first care of magical creatures lesson he was pleased to see that Arthur Gwaine, Lancelot and Elyan had all chosen it too. Sitting alone in divination hadn't been much fun yesterday. He wandered over to them and was greeted by a chorus of hellos and questions about his summer. He just gave his slightly goofy smile and summed it up in about three words. Once the lesson started Merlin became fascinated by what Professor Hagrid had to show them. He finally felt like this might just be his year.

The lesson ran smoothly up until the last 10 minutes when a Gryffindor boy and a Slytherin girl began to argue about some fact that the professor had said about the flobberworms they were studying, it esculated until a Ravenclaw stepped in, backing up what the Gryffindor had said. It wasn't until all three were shouting that Hagrid stepped in, using his loud, gruff voice and intimidating height to shut them up.

"Now what do ya think yu've got to be shoutin' about now?" When all three just looked down at their feet sheepishly, Hagrid turned to the whole class, "Now, seein' as you lot still don't seem grown up enough to handle werking as a class, looks like we're just gonna 'ave to split ya, like with the first years." There were disgruntled murmurs round the class, Merlin shot Arthur and the other boys a glance, Arthur looked just worried as he felt. "Now, I want all Gryffndors and Ravenclaws over by them flobberworms, and the rest of ya will be werking with those over there." And with that the professor was saying no more about it. Everyone was subdued for the rest of the lesson.

On the walk back to the castle Merlin jogged to catch up with the Knights, who had been dismissed with the Ravenclaws first.

"So, what did you all think of care of magical creatures then?" he asked, slightly out of breath from running half way across the school grounds.

"It was alright, thought we might get to look at something a bit more impressive than flobberworms," Gwaine grumbled as they entered the castle,

"I'm sure that'll come later, they can't just throw us in at the deep end," Elyan reasoned "We've got charms with the Ravenclaws now but hat have you guys got after?" there was a pause in the conversation as each boy rummaged for whatever scrap of parchment they had scribbled their timetable down on.

"Arithmancy, with Lancelot and Leon" Arthur read

"I've got muggle studies, with…" Gwaine squinted, trying to make sense of the blotted, inky scrawl "Percival?" He said in an uncertain tone, squinting harder

"Ancient runes" Said Elyan, they all turned to look at Merlin, who was still searching for the parchment, finally he gave a triumphant cry, glancing at it he read

"Potions now, divination after"

"Well we need to go upstairs, we'll see you later Merlin," the four of them called goodbye they headed for the stairs, leaving Merlin standing awkwardly by the door.

"Yep, I'll see you… and their gone" he said to himself before consulting his timetable once again and started heading for the dungeons.

Maybe next year would be his year?


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** I hope everyone like the new chapter, as always I love hearing from you guys, so please leave a comment telling me what you did/didn't like.  
Unfortunately I am back to school tomorrow so updates wont be as quick (but comments will help them come quicker!) also it's feeling like my life is about to be turned upside down, so if there is a bit of a wait between updates then I'm sorry but might just have some personal stuff to deal with (hopefully not but just a little forewarning!)

* * *

The second week rolled into the third, and the third into the fourth, and before they knew it everyone was settled into the swing of life at Hogwarts. Everyone had fallen back into patterns from last year; the Knights would spend their evenings practicing for Quidditch try-outs; Merlin found himself in solitude once again, spending his time doing extra reading or wandering the castle looking for the hidden passageways rumoured to exist. Gwen and Morgana continued to avoid the common rooms, there had been little done about the increase in inter-house violence so they stayed tucked away in the library.

* * *

New faces began to frequent their little corner, there was a Slytherin girl that Gwen recognised from a few classes. She had long blonde hair, pale skin and an intense stare. When she had first come upon them, with Morgana resting her head on Gwen's shoulder whilst they read a history book together, she had sneered and dismissed any kind of friendship that could possibly have formed between members of opposing houses. After she had swept away Morgana explained that Morgause came from a pure-blood Slytherin family and often talked about house politics in the girls dorm at night. Gwen dismissed Morgause's behaviour and no more was said about it.

* * *

The second new face was a small round one with floppy black hair and piercing blue eyes, just like Morgana's. He had first arrived one evening during the second week, sniffling and wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his Slytherin robe. As soon as Morgana saw him she go up from her comfortable position, reclining on Gwen, and went to him, pulling him into a hug. They had exchanged a few quiet words and moments later, after the boy glanced at Gwen apprehensively, Morgana lead him over so that he was sat between them.

"Mordred, this is my friend Gwen, Gwen this is my little brother, he's been having a little difficulty settling in," Morgana explained, when Gwen heard this she tutted sympathetically and turned to Mordred,

"It's okay, it's a big change coming to Hogwarts, I struggled settling in at first too, but I promise you that you'll soon make friends," Mordred fixed his eyes on her whilst she spoke, carefully listening to each word she said, "and you're super lucky having your sister here, I remember when I first arrived I only knew my brother, he took me in and his friends helped me adjust, and just between you and me," with that Gwen leaned closer to Mordred, as if to share a secret, "your sister is ten times better than my brother so you'll be just fine, okay?" Gwen grinned as Mordred smiled, reassured. They had chatted with him for a bit longer until the curfew bell for first years rang, indicating that it was time for them to head for their dorms. He waved goodbye as he disappeared round the corner and the girls resumed their previous position, they spent their extra 30 minutes chatting about first year and how things had changed since then, feeling very mature and sophisticated at being able to help guide one of the younger students.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, and after several visits from Mordred looking for help with his homework or just company he sidled up to them, which immediately caught Morgana's attention,

"come on then, what secret do you have to tell us?" she asked playfully, Gwen giggling at his astonished face,

"how did you know that I…"

"I'm your sister, I know everything," she said, rising one eyebrow which she often did when teasing Gwen, Mordred pulled a face at her then continued,

"I wanted you to meet my friend," he said happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet before jogging back around the stacks to retrieve said friend.

"Well, when Mordred said that he wanted to introduce me to his sister and her friend I didn't realise it was you two," Morgause almost sneered, standing next to Mordred, looking reproachfully at the pair, who weren't too thrilled themselves. But they put on a smile, after all they were the ones who had told Mordred to make friends, and had mentioned befriending older students.

They chatted in a somewhat forced manner, neither party wanting to upset Mordred. Once he had left to go to bed Morgause also quickly excused herself along with several snide comments about house traitors and Gryffindors not being trustworthy. Once she was gone Gwen and Morgana debated if they should step in and warn Mordred off Morgause and her toxic house politics, unable to decide what the right thing was to do they parted ways with Morgana promising to talk to Morgause tonight, and then Mordred in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

New chapter is finally here! This one is more Merlin/ Merlin and Arthur centric becosue I feel like I've gotten a bit caught in the side plot of Morgana and Gwen (Honestly I'm just used to writing F+F fics (look at my others and you'll see what I mean!) So writing a M+M fic is just a bit different, and as a gay female(?) I have little understanding of the males of your species so takes more thought on how things would happen.  
I also feel like I should apologise that this chapter has taken me more than a month to do, and I'm sorry that I have to tell you that it may be a while again until the next chapter. I really need to kick my ass into gear and start revising properly for my AS exams (they start in 5 weeks) but the good news about that is that they finish early June so I will have loads more time to dedicate to you guys!  
And as always, please Please PLEASE, leave me a comment or send me a message telling me what you did/didn't like, and just remember that it really encourages me to write and even if it doesn't result in a fast turn out of a chapter, just know that when I see that someone has left a comment it just makes me so happy!

* * *

As the half term holiday drew close the Knights were getting ever more excited as that meant that Quidditch try outs were just around the corner. Arthur had been practising like crazy, and even over the summer holidays when he had been unable to take his broom out he spent lazy days by the pool in Spain reading up on different tactics, much to his father's disgust. Uther had nearly given up on Arthur's future as the import/export lord he was, but he resented the way that the Wizarding world had enticed his son into their culture.

On the day of try outs the Gryffindor table was buzzing as many hopefuls were dressed in their kit; the excitement infecting most the others sat at the table. Merlin watched from across the hall as the Knights jostled with each other, playfully firing each other up. He didn't see any of them again until the next morning, just before lunch when he had Care of Magical Creatures. He has arrived early and was putting out some equipment for Hagrid when someone crept up behind him, grabbing his shoulders and yelling his name at the top of their voice, causing him to jump and nearly drop the equipment in his arms. Spinning round he saw that it was Arthur, with Gwaine, Lancelot and Elyan laughing behind him,

"Arthur!" He said in surprise, "You clotpole! I could have dropped these!" he couldn't help grinning none the less,

"Well it would have been worth it just to see that look on your face!" Arthur shot back, regaining some of his composure. "Besides, I have exciting news," he announced, his smile growing proudly. He waited for Merlin to respond, but gave up when all he did was raise his eyebrows in expectation "You are looking at Gryffindor's new Keeper!" He said triumphantly.

"That's great! Congratulations!" Merlin laughed as he dropped what he was holding and gave Arthur a quick hug, "Knew you could do it," he added as he pulled away.

"Thanks, Percy also made it, he's a beater." Arthur added as more of the class arrived.

"Tell him congratulations from me when you see him!" Merlin called as he went to join his half of the class, just as Hagrid began to explain today's lesson.

* * *

At the end of the lesson Merlin hung back whilst the other students headed back to the castle for lunch.

"um Professor Hagrid?" He said, half jogging up to him; Hagrid turned and looked down at the scrawny boy,

"yes Merlin? What can I do for you?" he asked in his country accent,

"I was just wondering if you could tell me a bit more about the incubation period between childhood and puberty of the Blast-ended Skrewt? The book was pretty vague on it,"

Hagrid beamed down at the boy, "Well 'course, hadn't you better be gettin' some lunch though?" He asked, concerned that the boy was already a stick. He scrunched his nose slightly, partly smiling on one side to,

"its fine, I'm not really hungry," he shrugged. Hagrid frowned slightly, only half believing him,

"I'll tell ya what, how 'bout you come back to my hut and I'll make us some tea and I'll tell ya some more 'bout the Blast-ended Skrewt?" he asked with a smile. Merlin grinned back and nodded in agreement. Both were glad to have some company and Hagrid was pleased to see that at least one of his students was engaging with the subject. He had been apprehensive about taking the class at first; most students took it as a filler subject, or for a chance to get out the castle, or because they thought it would be an easy subject, but every now and then you would get a student like Merlin who engaged with the content and would be eager to learn more.

By the end of lunch he had described the incubation period in plenty of detail, and given Merlin a list of books he could find in the Library if he wanted to do some more reading. Merlin thanked him again before heading off beck towards the castle for his next lesson, turning to wave at Hagrid as he went, which only ended up in him tripping over one of the ruts in the grass, managing to just regain his balance after a few staggered steps. Hagrid chuckled to himself, thinking about how much Merlin reminded him of a certain red-headed boy; just like that boy Merlin seemed not quite with it, but beneath the façade was a clever, thoughtful person.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Here you go! Finally got round to writing a new chapter, things have just been hectic with exams (I'm doing ASs at the moment and two of my subjects are art and drama which are both quite coursework heavy and so there's been a lot to do for them in order to prep for my exams, also my out of school schedule has somehow become very busy and Sunday is my only truly free day (and most of that has been dedicated to homework!) But now I am on half term and only have one exam paper left to sit and so I can put a bit more time into my writing, even when I go back to school before the summer holidays it should be a bit more relaxed so hopefully you can look forward to more chapters in the near future!  
I hoe you like this one, its a Gwen-centric chapter because her and Morgana have quite a bit sub-plot in the overall plan; also just between you and me I find female characters easier to write (which you may have picked up on if you've read some of my other fics as most of them are female based) and so sometimes I hit a wall on where to go next with the boys or how to get something across, so I take a breather with a chapter like this. I hope you like it and I promise that next episode will be back to focusing on the boys (particularly Merlin)  
As always please leave a comment or kudos as it does motivate me to write and just makes me so happy to hear from you guys (also want to know what you do and don't like so I can tailor it more to you :) )  
Sidenote: all my work is also available on AO3 with the same story name and pen name, if you find that easier to use :)

* * *

"Morgana!" Gwen jogged down the dungeon corridor; throughout potions she hadn't had a chance to talk to her, Snape had been in a bad mood and any talking above a whisper could earn you a detention, and with Morgana sat on the other side of the room, Gwen hadn't had an opportunity.

Morgana kept walking until Gwen caught up with her, grabbing her shoulder. Morgana turned,

"Oh Gwen, hello, I didn't realise you were behind me," She said, her soft Irish accent coming through and her tone somewhat aloof, which took Gwen aback for a moment; she frowned slightly, still giving Morgana a half smile,

"I did call after you…" she paused before looking down with a small shake of her head; meeting Morgana's eyes again she smiled fully "Anyway; do you want to meet in the library after dinner? McGonagall told us to read a couple chapters of our transfiguration books before next lesson, I thought we could do it together… and I feel like I haven't seen you properly in weeks!" Morgana dropped her eyes,

"Sorry Gwen, I'm seeing Mordred and Morgause this evening," at this Gwen also dropped her eyes to the floor,

"Oh, okay… no worries, another time." Shrugging off her disappointed tone she put on a brave smile, "how is Mordred? Have you managed to lure him away from Morgause yet?" Trying to make Morgana laugh, or at least smile. Instead Morgana furrowed her brow,

"Morgause isn't actually a bad person Gwen. After all your talk about inter-house unity, you're very quick to judge." her tone had a sharp edge to it that took Gwen by surprise, she wasn't sure how to respond; after all it had been Morgana that had told her about Morgause, how her mother had been sent to Azkaban for crimes involving dark magic, leaving Morgause with her estranged father; it had been Morgana that had been worried about her influence on Mordred, and yet here she was defending her despite Morgause's continued bullying of younger students and harassment of other members of other houses.  
"Just back off, just because I have other friends now doesn't mean you should get jealous and be so rude."

"I.." Gwen tried to form some kind of response but before she could get her first words out Morgana had turned on her heel and swept off down the hall, disappearing into the Slytherin common room, leaving Gwen at a loss.

* * *

Gwen was quiet for a few days, not sure where she and Morgana stood after their argument she had been avoiding her, worried that she would just push her further away. Surprisingly it was relatively easy to do, despite sharing a lot of classes all the seating was segregated into houses and outside of classes Morgana would retreat to her common room.

On the fourth day Gwen decided that enough was enough and, whilst waiting to go in to transfiguration, she went up to Morgana and Morgause, who were chatting.

"Hi… Morgana can I have a word… in private…" Both Morgana and Morgause looked over at her, Morgana not even smiling as she said in a somewhat steely tone "Whatever you have to say you can say here."

"Okay…" Gwen paused, not wanting to provoke another argument. "I'm sorry for what I said, you're right that I may have been too quick to judge Morgause and for that I feel I owe both of you an apology so,"

"Well," Morgause cut her short, a sharp tone matching her sharp blue eyes that had a menacing gleam "who cares what a stupid Gryffindor blood-traitor like you thinks? I heard that your father works with muggles and uses his magic to help them, in many ways you're worse than a mudblood." Gwen was shocked, not only by Morguase's outburst but more that Morgana did nothing, she didn't meet Gwen's eyes until she spoke, her voice was quiet but there was little sympathy in her tone,

"Gwen, you should go." Still in shock she just stood there, trying to process what had happened and how a simple apology had gone so wrong.

"You heard her," Morgause stepped forward, squaring up to Gwen, "get out of here, or else I'll hex you!" before Morgause had a chance to carry out her threat, Professor McGonagall emerged and they filed into the classroom,

Once the lesson was over Gwen thought she would try to talk to Morgana again, if only she could get her on her own to explain, but as she followed Morgana and Morgause down the corridor she overheard what Morgause was saying,

"Later I'll show you this book my mum gave me, 'Hexs, Curses, Jinxs, and other skills for a beginner in dark magic' you liked that other one and this is quite similar. Soon you might even be as good as me!" This stopped Gwen in her tracks, was Morgana really getting involved with dark magic? She found herself alone in the corridor, unsure of what to do next she began to wander back towards the Gryffindor common room, finally she deciding that she would talk to Elyan.

* * *

After dinner and going to the library to check out some books for homework, checking their little corner in the small hope that Morgana was there, Gwen headed up to the common room in the hope of finding Elyan. She asked one of the other third year boys if they had seen him, they hadn't and he wasn't in the dorms. Still unsure of what to do she settled in one of the armchairs by the fire to do some reading, hoping that she would catch Elyan when he came in.

After about an hour when she was starting to give up on her plan and to just retreat to her dorm and maybe try again tomorrow, Arthur walked in, lugging some books with him he didn't look to happy but Gwen still dashed over to him,

"Hey Arthur, do you know where Elyan is… I really need to talk to him," the frown lifted from Arthur's brow when Gwen came over, he had always had a soft spot for her.

"His out with the others, practising Quidditch… I was going to join them after my detention with Snape, but if you need someone to talk to I'd be happy to listen… if it's something you want to talk to me about… if you need Elyan I can tell him and maybe you could meet with him tomorrow?" Gwen smiled,

"you'd be great, if you don't mind giving up practise,"

"Of course not, so why did you want to talk to Elyan?" Arthur smiled kindly, sitting down with Gwen.

"Well, when at home whenever I'd have a problem, Dad would make us hot drinks and we'd sit by the fire and talk it through… I guess that I just figured that Elyan was the next best thing?" Arthur stood up, pulling Gwen with him as she went,

"Well then, go get into your pyjamas and put all those books and things away, I'll meet you back here in 15 minutes!" with no further explanation Arthur jogged up the stairs to his dorm, flashing Gwen a grin as he did.

* * *

15 minutes later when Gwen remerged she found that Arthur had pulled two of the old armchairs round to create a more secluded atmosphere and he was sat there, in his pyjamas, with two mugs of hot chocolate.

"There, now we're all set up, ready to talk about it?" Gwen laughed as she sat down,

"Thank you Arthur," she said, touched that Arthur would not only give up a chance to practise, but also go to this much effort for her. Her smile faded and she dropped his gaze for a moment, hesitantly saying "It's about Morgana…"

She explained everything; from Morgause's past, to Mordred befriending her, to Morgana seemingly being drawn in and tempted towards dark magic.

"I just don't what to do!" she said with a sigh, "I've tried talking to her but she just bites my head off… I don't understand how she could have changed so suddenly." Arthur was quiet for a minute, thinking about the situation,

"Maybe Morgause is insecure about her friendships? By the sound of it she isn't very popular so maybe she feels like you might take Morgana away from her?" Gwen frowned,

"that still doesn't account for why she would be getting Morgana into dark magic, that stuff is really dangerous…"

"Maybe it's not as bad as you think, or maybe Morgana is just going along with it to keep Morgause happy,"

"Arthur I don't think you understa,"

"Gwen," Arthur cut her off, gently putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye, "Morgana is a sensible girl, I'm sure she won't get herself into anything too bad, and whilst you're looking at it as Morgause corrupting Morgana, have you considered that Morgana might be making Morgause a better person?" Gwen didn't answer; she slumped down in her chair and watched the fire's embers. "It's getting late… I'm going to head up to bed and I suggest you do the same thing soon." As he stood up he gave shoulder a squeeze before disappearing up the stairs.

Gwen stayed where she was, she like Arthur and thought he was a good friend, but at the end of the day he was a muggle-born, and what does any muggle born truly know about the darker sides of the Wizarding World when all they've seen is Hogwarts? She had grown up watching families be ripped apart by dark magic, hearing stories about how it would corrupt a person down to their core. There was a reason that the Ministry required them to be taught how to defend themselves against the dark arts, but how could a muggle-born comprehend those reasons? Arthur had been a good listener, but in the end she was still unsure about what to do… maybe she should have just waited for Elyan.


End file.
